This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Today's episode zeros in on the essential marketing strategies ideal for just about any side hustle, or at least for a lot of side hustles. I know we got people working in different categories, doing different things, but you also have very limited time. So let's hear today from Miguel. He's got a question. Well, he's got a question, I'm gonna attempt to answer it.
Miguel is a software engineer, budding indie game developer. And he's basically wondering like, how do I effectively engage an audience, establish online presence, grow a customer base and so on? But how do I master this art in a crowded marketplace? And again, with limited time. So this is a common quest, a common challenge.
It's crucial to strategize your marketing moves just as carefully as your product development. Let's see if we can level up your marketing game by figuring out what are the key activities, these things you must do to boost visibility and engagement for whatever it is you're trying to make. Thanks for being out there. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
Detailed question coming right up. [Music]
Hello, I'm Miguel, a software engineer and aspiring indie game developer based in Chicago. I've started a side hustle creating narrative driven mobile games. Here's what I'm wondering. In the vast landscape of marketing strategies, I'm unsure which task to prioritize.
Could you break down the key marketing activities that are essential for promoting a digital product like mobile games and building a dedicated user base? [Music]
Hey Miguel, got it, love it. Let's narrow down to what's truly essential in your marketing toolkit. Keeping in mind the busy lives of side hustlers like yourself and listeners, we're gonna answer Miguel's question, but hopefully in a way that is helpful to others as well. That's what we always try to do.
Step one, I think it's a pinpoint where the audience is. In this case, digital product of mobile games. Where are those players? I don't mean geographically in the world. In this case, I mean online.
Where are narrative driven game enthusiasts hanging out? Is it Twitter, Reddit, specific gaming forums? It's not about being everywhere. It's about being where it counts, picking a couple of places, a couple of communities and being strong there. Strong and active in a couple of communities.
But also, step two, create an online hub. Not just engaging on those platforms, but your game needs a home base, a website. Doesn't have to be elaborate. A simple clean design on WordPress or Squarespace works just fine, but you do wanna have a hub that you can bring people to or refer people to. And about that community, step three, you wanna build an actual community, not just a player base.
You wanna engage with potential players, reply to comments, join conversations, maybe start a Discord server if you have space for that in your life. If you don't, totally understand it. But the point is to build relationships, not just broadcast messages. I also think it's good. Step four here, use email wisely.
Start collecting emails early before the game launches. Again, just really simple. MailChimp, ConvertKit, other services. A simple newsletter updating subscribers on your game's progress is powerful. And then the last step, analytics, your secret weapon.
Analytics are gonna tell you what you need to spend more time on. So check analytics on your website, on social platforms. It's not just about the numbers, it's about the insight that the numbers give you into what's working and what's not. So that you don't spread yourself thin over countless activities. You instead focus on a few key areas.
Keep it focused, keep it genuine, and you'll see your player base grow. Miguel, cheering you on. Listener's wishing you the best as well. Hope this is a year of action for you. Depending on what's happened over the past month or two, you always got time to regroup, re-strategize.
We got a lot more time in the year. So I would love to hear some positive reports as we go along. You can always reach me on social media, or sidehustleschool.com. We'll feature updates from listeners throughout the year. New episode every day.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
